Watch MC Hammer Help This Brand Stop Hammer Time—Literally

3M's Command strips get the perfect spokesman

Rapper MC Hammer is donning his shiny hammer pants again in a new campaign for 3M's Command strips.

The campaign, "Do. No Harm," from Grey New York, fully maximizes the pun potential of the "U Can't Touch This" and "Too Legit to Quit" artist's name and catchphrases.

In the first of three TV ads, debuting today, Hammer, fully decked out in his '90s regalia, pops out of an apparently magical toolbox to the surprise of a woman who's hammering nails into her wall to hang artwork. He tells her to "Stop hammer time," and use Command picture hanging strips instead, because, "This hammer hates nails." When she marvels at the unblemished wall, courtesy of Command strips, he says (what else?), "Hammer don't hurt 'em."

The campaign is a shift away from the Command's previous TV ads, which were more instructional and explained how the strips worked, to a more playful creative.

"We still have relatively low brand awareness, so our goal is to accelerate that, and to change the way that consumers think about hanging things," Joe Paul, global business unit manager for Command Brand, told Adweek. "To bring that to life, we turned to MC Hammer. We're partnering with him because we're literally on a mission to stop hammer time. We need a shot in the arm, and we think MC Hammer is going to be disruptive."

The campaign also includes social and digital content, including "Ask Hammer," a series of videos on Command's website, and a #ThrowbackThursday event hosted by Hammer at Grand Central terminal in New York on May 19. Attendees can don '90s garb and record short lip-syncing videos of MC Hammer's signature song with the artist himself.